Pipe wrapping machine



Oct. 3, -1939. s. P. MILLER 2,174,754

.nrs annua 4)mamma i Filed Jam 27, 1936 s sheets-sheet 1 I 6 f 62a i3ATTORNEY CCL 3,. 1939." s.-P. MILLERv 2174v754 Pxrn MAPPING incarnaFired Jan. 27, 193e :s snets-sheet 2 'Patented Oct. 3, 1939 'PIPEWBAPPING MACHINE Stuart P. Miller, Scarsdale, N. Y., assignor to TheBarrett Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New JerseyApplicatie. January 27, 1931s, serial No. 61,003 fs claims. (ci.24a-11),

)This invention relates to wrapping machines and more particularly topipe wrapping machines adapted to be mounted upon a pipe and to movelongitudinally of the pipe during thewrapping operation. ,f

An object of this invention is to provide a relatively light-weight pipemapping machine which can readily be mounted upon an enamelled pipe andoperated manually or from a suitable source 1 0 of power such asanelectric motor to apply wrapping material during relative longitudinalmovement of the machine and pipe. The 'machine includes a normallynon-rotatingV frame carrying adjustable traction members of suchcharacter 1I as not toinjure the enamel coating or the wrap pingmaterial, which traction members ,bear .against the wrapped portion ofthe pipe, and a ring which may be rotated manually or by a suit ablesource of power. 'I'he ring carries a roll or rolls of wrapping materialand is connected in driving relation to the traction members.l The axesof the rolls of wrapping are inclined with respect to the longitudinalaxis oi the pipe and the peripheries of the rolls bear resilientlyagainst the pipe. When the ring is /rotated the wrapping material iswrapped around the pipe and motion of the ring is transmitted to thetraction members. The rolls of wrapping'material bearing upon the pipeand the traction members progressively move $0 the wrapping machinelongitudinally' along the pipe. For a more complete understanding of theinvention reference should be had to the following detailed descriptionand tothe accompanying .drawings illustrative of preferred embodimentsof the invention, in which, v

Fig. 1 is a. central longitudinal sectional view through the wrappingmachine taken on line I-I of Fig. 2, parts being shown inelevation;

Fig. v2 is a central longitudinal sectional view 'taken on line 2-2 ofFig. 1, 'parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the machine taken in the direction of the arrow3 of Fig. 2, the pipe being shown in section;

Fig.` 4 is a transverse cross sectional view taken on lineV 4--4 of Fig.2; f

` Fig. 5 is a transverse cross-sectional detail View 5o through one ofthe traction members;

Fig. 6 is a detail view in elevation of a driving sprocket for thetraction members;

Fig. 'I is a'fragmentary elevational view of a traction member; 'f uFig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view the frame.

-and 6.

' in Fig. 1 frame member I illustrating a mod'ined form oi tractionmember and driving means therefor;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the traction member of Fig.8

Fig. 10 is an end view illustrating a modied' 5 form of pipe wrappingmachine, the pipe being .shown in section;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the machineillus.- trated in Fig. 10',parts being shown in section; and 1 Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic viewshowing a modification of the structure of Figs. 10 and 11.

The pipe wrapping machine of this invention includes a. normallynon-rotating cylindrical frame designated generally by the reference l5'numeral I and a ring-like member indicated by the reierence numeral 2rotatably mounted on,

Frame I` may include two semicylindrical segments 3, l secured togetherby any suitable means illustrated conventionally -at 5 20 This securingmeans may conveniently consist of a hinge and any suitable fastener forready mountingv and' demountingA of the frame with respect to the pipe.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated 25 carries projectingin-J wardly from the interiorwalls thereof a plurality of members 8provided. with .bolts 9. Roller sup- Ports II are adjustaily secured tothe members 8v by means of slots I which receive bolts 9. 'I'he 30 freeends of supports II are provided with forks or journals Il in which arerotatably mounted a plurality of rollers I6 (see particularly Figs.

i and 6)', constituted of cylindrical portions I1,

sprocket bentral. pcrtions I8 and spindles I9.

The spindles I9 oi rollers I8 may be rotatably mounted in slidablebearings 20 resiliently urged toward the centerl of frameyl by springs20. Each of the supports I I of the illustrated embodiment of the.Linvention carries three rollers I6 40 and upon each yroller assemblyis mounted a traction member 2I which is preferably a flexiblecaterpillar belt of such character as not to injure enamel or wrappedmateriaL In order to secure a positive drive between the' rollers andthe tractionbelts 2 I the inner runs of. the belts may have securedtheretok chainflike members 23 for engaging the sprocket teeth I8 of therollers I6. 'Ihree belt and roller assemblies symmetrically `arrangedaround the pipe are illustrated in the embodiment of the invention shownin Figs. 1 `to 4. It will be appreciated the springs 20' resilientlyurge the caterpillar belts 2| toward the pipe, and that upon actuationof the belts the cylindrical framewill be moved along the pipe at a-ratebelts.

Carried on the cylindrical frame adjacent the forward edge thereof aretwo upstanding substantially parallel flanges 25, 26. Ring member 2 A isrotatablymounted on the'frame I and may advantageously be provided withdownwardly extending anges 21, 28 which engage flanges 25, 26 to preventlateral movement of the ring with respect to the frame. Ring member 2,like the cylindrical frame is preferably constituted of two or moresegments hinged or otherwise secured together to permit ready mountingof the machine about the pipe. Secured to lthe'interior of the ringmember is aring gear 30 (see particularly Fig. 4) which meshes vwithgears 3| rotatably mounted in bearings 3|' carried by cylindrical framemember Each of the gears 3| drives a flexible shaft 32 which in turn isconnected in driving relation toa roller IE drivinga traction member 2|.n member 2 to allow ready manual rotation of the latter and it will beappreciated that upon rotation of the' ring member, motion will betransmitted through gears 3|,-,exible driving connections 32, rollers I6and traction members 2| to cause move'- ment of the wrapping machinealong the pipe.

If the wrapping machine is employed where power, such as an electricmotor, is available, the ring member 2 may be rotated from. such sourceof power. It will be understood that in the wrapable. vmachine and itsdesign, which is such that upon ping of pipe lines, for which thismachine is particularly designed, the machine frequently must beemployed in districts where power is not avail- The light weightcharacteristics of the rotation of ring member 2 longitudinal propulsionof the traction member as well as rotation of the roll or rolls of'wrapping material about the pipe take place, adapts this machinerformanual operation. As the weight of ring member 2 is symmetricallydistributed aboutthe pipe, little energy is required to effect itsrotation.

Projecting from the forward side of ring member 2 are pins orprojections35 upon which are pivotally mounted members 38, each provided with asegmental slot 31 and an aperture. Bolts 40 extend through the segmentalslots 31 and' `apertures in the members 36 and adjustably sccure theretoarms 39 which rotatably support between their forked. free ends 4| rollsof wrapping'l material 42. Springs 43 attached to projections 44 and toroll-carrying arms 39 resiliently press the rolls of wrapping materialagainstthe pipe. The rolls of wrapping material are preferably placedunder suificient tension to insure the -desired wrapping of the materialas it is unwound from the rolls onto the pipe and for this purpose anysuitable tension devices (not shown) may be employed. The inclination ofthe axes of the rolls of wrapping material with respect to thlongitudlnal axis of the pipe may be varied by suitable adjustment ofthe bolts 40 with respect to the segmental slots 31. A counterwelght 46may be secured to the lower portion of frame to steady the'frame on thepipe; the machine may also alternatively be steadied by hand by means oftransverse handle bars 3a secured to segment 3 by sockets 3b.

The operation of the device may be briefly described as follows:

When itisdesiredto initiate the wrapping operation the frame member andring member 2 are mounted upon the pipe and secured thereabout by meansof the fastening means provided Handles `34=project from the ringvdependent upon the rate of movement of the and rotates the ring member2. The motion of the ring gear is transmitted through gears 3|,

flexible driving connections 32 and rollerA IG to the caterpillartraction members 2| and the resulting actuation of the latter causeslongitudinal movement of the machine along the pipe. The caterpillartraction members travel upon the wrapped portion of the pipe and, sincethey move longitudinally but not rotatably with respect to A the pipe,do nothave a tendency' to distort or otherwise injure the wrappingmaterial. The rolls of wrapping ,material 42 bear resiliently againstthe pipe, and .due to the inclination of their axes to the longitudinalaxis of the pipe, aid the trac-y tion members in Imoving the wrappingmachine and maintaining the machine balanced on the pipe with the weightof the machine and the rolls of wrapping material uniformly distributedabout the pipe. Hence large rolls of wrapping material may be employed,and further, the energy re` quired to operate the machine is minimized.Weight 46 has a tendency to prevent any unbalance or rotation of frameon the pipe.

In Figs. 8 and 9 a somewhat modified form of traction member andmounting means 'therefor is illustrated. The traction member 41 of thesefigures is provided with transverse slits 48 extending laterally fromthe side edges towards the center thereof. Two spaced rollers 49 bear onthe slit portions of the traction member adjacent the side edges thereofand sprocket 50 engages chain 23 and propels the traction member. Thetransverse slits 48 enable the traction member 41 to .hug the pipethroughout the entire width of the traction member and hence morefirmlygrip` the pipe to propel the machine therealong. y

In Figs. 10 and 11 there is illustrated a modified form of the inventionin which the frame member 5| is balanced upon the top of (see Fig. 11),but does not entirely surround, the pipe.

member may be similar to the corresponding.

elements of Figs. 1 to 4 hereinabove describedr and hence require nofurther description.

' The frame member5| is provided adjacent the.

front end thereof .with two downwardly extending diverging arms 51'.These arms carry at their Roller supporting member 52 is adjustablyseapex and free ends a series of rollers 58, 58 which define a circleconcentricwith respect to the pipe and rotatably support ring member 60.The ring member 60 is preferably constituted of two semicircularsegments hinged or 'otherwise secured together as described inconnection with Fig. 1. Each of rollers 58, 58' isprovided with apair ofparallel flanges 62, which receive therebetween a ring. gear 83 rigidlysecured to the interior of the ring member.

rollers' cooperate with the ring member to rotatably support the latteron the frame. Rollers Il It will be observed that the -may beprovidedbetween the ilanges thereof with gear teeth 65 which engage the teeth ofthe ring gear.63 and impart' rotation lto the roller upon rotation ofthering member.

The spindle of roller 58 is secured to exible shaft 66 which is in turnconnected in driving relation to the foremost of rollers 54 carryingtraction member t55.

The frame 5I is provided with cross bars 68 on which may be adjustablymounted -two pairs of rollers 69 for engaging the sides of'the pipe andguiding the frame therealong during the wrapping operation. Anadditional roller carr'ying arm 1| may, if desired, be adjustablymounted on the rear end of the frame, as for example by bolt and slotconnections 12, 13. The-roller 14 may engage the' under side of the piperto steady the machine during its progress along the pipe.

A roll or rolls of mapping material (not shown) may be mounted upon thefront end of the ring member by mechanism similar to that shown in Figs.l'to 4. Such rolls of wrapping material' may bear resiliently againstthe pipe with their axes inclined to the longitudinal axis of the pipe.

In the operation of the device,A the frame is placed upon the pipe andproperly positioned with respect thereto by adjusting member 52, rollers69 and roller 'M if used. The ring member 6|! may then be assembledabout rollers 58, 58 and the rolls of Wrapping material adjusted to bearagainst the pipeat the desired inclination and with the desiredpressure. The operator 'grasps the handles 34 on the ring member 60 androtates the latter, thereby causing the wrapping material to be unwoundfrom the rolls. The motion of the ring member is transmitted throughring gear 63, roller 58 and flexible driving' connection 66 to thetraction member 55. The traction member and the rolls of wrappingmaterial. cause the machine to progressively advance along the pipe atthe desired speed. In case the` frame -shows a-tendency to rotate aroundthe pipe, suitable Weights (not shown) may be secured to either sidethereof to prevent such rotation.

' While in Figs. 10 and 11 only one traction` member has beenillustrated it will be apprecl-V Vated that one, two or more suchmembers may be l employed. Fig 12 illustrates diagrammatically amodication of the construction of Fig. 10 in which two traction members15, 'I5' bearing on opposite sides of the highest point of the peripheryof the pipe are-employed. These traction members may be driven from ringmember 60 by driving connections such as Ithose hereinabove described.In the illustrated-embodiments of the invention, the traction membersrun on the wrapped portion of the pipe.

It will be evident that thetraction'members, instead of riding on thewrapped portion of the pipe as shown on the drawings, could ridedirectly on the enamel vcoating of the unwrapped portion of the pipewithout injury thereto; for example, by reversing the direction ofrotation of the rotatable ring member for wrapping the pipe from rightto left in the manner shown inv Fig. 1, the Wrapping machine would wrapthe pipe from left to right and the belts 2| would travel directly onther enamel coating of the pipe.v

If desired a motor or manual driving means may be connected directly tothe traction members and the rotatable ring member driven from thetraction members; or the ring member and tractionmembers may be drivenindependently byseparate motors or manual driving means.

While I have'illustrated two rolls of wrapping material mounted upon themachine, itl will be understood that any desired number of rolls may beemployed to cover the pipe with any.- desired number of plies ofmaterial. Thus, for example, one, two or three or more rolls may beemployed,

and the spirals of material from one roll applied,v in lapped, butted orspaced relation. Thespirals from another roll may be applied 'to coverthe edges ofthe spirals-of the first roll.' Use of a rplurality of rollsis preferred since it.

permits better balancing of the rotating parts.

From the hereinabove description it-will beap? preciated that I haveprovided a pipe wrapping machine simple in construction, easy to operateand adjustable for use in wrapping pipes of a wide variety of sizes. Thecombined tractive eiect of the traction members and the rolls ofwrapping material esult in uniform longitudinal movement of the machineal ngthe pipe, the rolls of wrapping material ding the 'machine in itslongitudinal movem nt along the pipe.

The traction members bear upon the Wrapped or' unwrapped portions of thepipe but do not rotate therearound and hence have no tendency toseriously distort or injure the wrapping material or enamel coatingwhich has been applied.

I claim: 1. A pipe wrapping machine comprising in combination a frame, aflexible 'belt traction member on said frame for engaging the pipe andsupporting the weight of the wrapping machine on the pipe, arotatinggear mounted on said frame and engaged to be rotated about saidpipe, means connecting said rotating gear with said traction member formoving said traction member along said pipe and a rollof wrappingmaterial carried by said rotatinggear and arranged to be revolved aboutsaid pipe to wind the wrapping material thereabout.

2. A manually operated pipe wrapping machine comprising a frame adaptedto be mounted upon a pipe, a member rotatably mounted with respect tosaid frame, iiexible belt traction members carriedby saidframe and adriving' connection between said 'traction members and'said rotatablemember whereby rotation of said rotatable member actuates said tractionmembers to propel said machine along the pipe. i

non-rotatable frame adapted to surround the pipe, a plurality oftraction members mounted on said frame and adapted to engage said pipeat spaced points -therearound, means for adjusting said traction membersto 'engage the peripheries of different sized pipes, guides on saidframe, a rotatable member mounted upon `3. A pipe wrapping machinecompri/sing a said frame, driving connections` between said ro.

tatable member yand said traction members whereby rotation of saidrotatable member actuates said traction members, a roll of wrappinglmaterial mountedupon -said rotatable member, said roll of wrapping"material having its axis inclined with respect to the longitudinal. axisof the pipe, means for resiliently pressingsaid roll of wrappingmaterial against the pipe, said traction members and said roll ofwrapping material cooperating, upon rotation of said rotatalble member,to cause longitudinal movement of the machine along the pipe.

4. A pipe wrapping machine comprising, inv

combination, a frame adapted to be mounted upon a pipe, a tractionmember mounted on said frame and adapted to engage the pipe, a roll ofwrapping material supported on said frame for revolution about saidpipe, the `axis of said roll of wrapping materialv being inclined withrespect to the axis of said pipe, means for pressing said roll ofwrapping material against said pipe,

means for revolving said roll of wrapping mate- Vmember rotatablymounted on said frame, a roll of wrapping material mounted on said ringmember with its axis inclined with respect to the long'ltudinal axis ofthe pipe, means for pressing said roll oi wrapping material against saidpipe, means Ior actuating said traction member, said traction memberandsaid roll of wrapping material cooperating to move the wrapping machinelongitudinally of the pipe. L

6. A pipe wrapping machine comprising in combination a non-rotatableframe, flexible belt traction means on said frame Ior supporting saidframe on said pipe,y a member supported by said frame for rotation aboutsaid pipe, means for mounting a roll of wrapping materialen said memberfor revolution about said pipe, means for rotating said member aboutsaid pipe to apply spiral convolutions of wrapping material thereto andmeans for actuating said ilexible belt traction means to move saidmachine lungitudinally along the pipe.

rotatable frame adapted to be mounted around a pipe, a plurality ofsupporting members arranged symmetrically around the interior oi saidframe, means for adjusting said members to- '1. A pipe wrapping machinecomprising 4il. nonward and from the longitudinal axis of ,said

l 1li-ame, rollers mounted on the inner portions ot .said supportingmembers, ilexibley belts mounted' on said rollers, guides on the forwardportion of said frame, a` ring member rotatably mounted on said guides,a ring gear on said rin'g member, gearing connecting said ring gear withthe rollers on which said ilexible belts are 'mounted whereby rotationof the ring member results in actuation 'ot the exible belts, aplurality of arms mounted on said ring'member, said arms being adaptedto carry rolls of wrapping material, meansior resiliently pressing saidrolls of wrapping'material against the pipe and means for "adjusting theaxes of the rolls with respect to the longitudinal axis oi the pipe. n

8. A pipe wrapping machine comprising in combination a frame adapted' tobe mounted upon a pipe, a supporting member mounted on said frame andprojecting inwardly toward said pipe, means lfor adjusting saidsupportingv member toward and away from said pipe, rollers c'arried bysaid supporting member, a traction belt positioned about said rollersand adapted to engage an upper portion of said pipe, adjustable. rollersupports carried by said frame,rollers carried by saidy adjustablesupports an dadaptedto engage said pipe in the neighborhood of itshorizontal diameter, guides mounted on the forward portion of saidframe, 'said trame being provided with means for preventing rotation ofthe same about the Pipe. -a lring member rotatably mounted on saidguides, a ring gear carried by said ring member, a driving connectionincluding a flexible shaft between said ring gear and said ilexibletraction belt, a plurality of arms pivoted on said ring member. saidarms being adapted to carry .rolls ofwrapping material, means forresiliently I"pressing said rolls of wrapping Ymaterial againstsaid'pipe, and means for adjusting the axes of said rolls of,l wrappingmaterial with respect .to the axis ot said pipe.

' STUART P. MILLER.

